Waking
by d962831
Summary: What happens when someone from our world suddenly finds himself in the world of One Piece? Can he figure out how he got there and a way back home, or is the life he knew gone forever?    Contains an OC. Follows the OP story with this OC added to the mix.
1. Chapter 1

Where to begin… The start would be appropriate, however, I can't really call it that now, can I? I guess, I could start with the end. Yeah, the end is good. It was the end of all I knew and the start of something I never could have imagined. So, this is my story of…a new start? That doesn't seem quite right. Waking up? I guess that works, after all I _was _waking up for the first time. The first time in this world.

_**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**_

Awareness came slowly and sluggishly. At first it was just a sense of unease. I felt familiar surroundings, but at the same time, it was alien to me. New. Sound came next, muffled and far away. It would start and stop at random it seemed. I don't know how long I lay there, listening to it, but eventually I began to realize it was speech. There was someone nearby, which meant I should probably wake up and see what was going on so close to where I was. I opened my eyes. Where was I? The surroundings weren't familiar, it was dark, everything covered in heavy shadows. I began to notice other noises then, small consistent beeps, the sound of some sort of machine. The talking was getting louder, and I was finally able to start making out what was being said.

"…-a. How do you even know about this?"

"It does not matter. Where is he?"

"*Sigh* Over here…"

I heard the footsteps of someone getting closer and turned my head, eyes widening and heart starting to race as I saw two very large figures moving toward me through the shadows. I couldn't make out any details, just the silhouettes. I tried to sit up and that's when I realized I couldn't. I felt…weak. So damn weak, so tired. Why? I didn't do anything too strenuous yesterday. So why was my body so unresponsive? The two finally stopped next to where I was laying, towering over me and looking down. I still couldn't see squat, and I think that frightened me more than anything.

"You're awake!" One said in surprise.

"You said he would be unconscious for another week." The other one started

"I know! I know! I don't understand this! It's only been three days, not everything has had time to be processed! The conditioning protocols haven't even begun!"

"What?" I asked weakly, my voice strangely quiet. Even my voice felt weak. What the hell?

"This is a failure, doctor," one of them said.

"You think I don't know that! Damn, this has been over twenty years in the making!"

I frowned, not having the slightest clue what they were talking about. My focus shifted away from their discussion when I realized that I didn't feel panicky. That wasn't right. I _should_ be panicky. I had just woken up in a strange place and couldn't move. Was I too tired to even panic?

"What are you doing?" one of them shrieked, bringing my awareness back to the current situation.

I looked up to find one of them standing directly over me, hand raised. The one standing above me spoke, "As I said, the project will continue with a new subject…a willing one, one with far more experience than this boy has gained."

"NOOO-!"

I saw the hand get bigger and realized it was coming down at me. My eyes widened, pupils dilated, yet ironically, I didn't see anything better. I blacked out.

_**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**_

After that, things were vague for a while. I'm not entirely sure what happened, but I knew I was somewhere else. There were people there, and they fed me whenever I managed to stay conscious long enough to eat something. Little by little, I guess they built up my strength. When I finally started being able to remember those waking periods clearly…I stopped seeing people come by. One day I finally got the strength to sit up an did so, looking around, I found myself surrounded by four gray walls, a heavy iron door set in to one of them, a small barred window on the opposite wall. I was in a prison cell. I tried standing and walking to the door, but passed out halfway there. The next time I woke up I was back in the bed and there was a meal sitting on the floor next to the bed. I ate greedily, finding the meal delicious, but far from filling. Then again, though, I guess everything taste delicious when you haven't eaten a decent meal in a while.

A few days passed of the same before I finally got up the nerve to try standing again. I did and wobbled my way to the door and started pounding on it. A slot at eye level slid open and I suddenly found hard eyes glaring at me.

"What?" The person asked sharply.

I blinked and finally spoke, my voice was still strangely quiet, "Where am I? What's going on? What is this place?"

The slot slid shut and I didn't get an answer. With a weary sigh I hobbled back to the bed and slept. That night was the first one that the dreams started. I was back in that dark place with those two towering shadows standing over me. It always ended with the one moving its hand toward me to hit me.

A week passed by, and then another. I was feeling almost normal again now. My voice was still quiet, though I've always had a quiet voice, it sounded strangely soft, unused. I guess I didn't use it much though. Aside from banging on the door, asking where I was, and never getting an answer, I didn't talk. So instead, I thought, trying to remember what I'd been doing the night before I woke up in that dark place. No matter how hard I tried though, I never remembered anything other than going to bed. So I started thinking about getting out of the damn place. I wore myself out thinking and fell asleep. When I woke, I found something that shocked me, and scared me. Who would've thought a newspaper could be frightening?

* * *

**Ok, so there's the first chapter! I'm sure some of the sharp folks out there will already be able to guess at a connection I'm making with the character and the One Piece world. This is going to be a rewrite to another story I'd started posting here, but removed due to not liking it. I've chosen to instead change a few things, and write it in a first person perspective. Getting feedback is what fuels me to keep writing, so please, Read and Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

I stared at the paper in my hands for who knows how long before finally dropping it to the ground. I brought my hands up and covered my face with them, my mind reeling. I'd read every word in the paper. Twice. Marines this….pirates that….East Blue….Grand Line….Whitebeard….Warlord of the Sea….Admiral Sengoku. All of it, total bullshit. Was this some kind of gag? Were they trying to make me go nuts by thinking I was in some completely different world? You'd have to be stupid to fall for something like that!

But… I doubted my conviction as I told myself that. Something in the back of my mind was screaming, trying to get my attention, but it was too far off and I couldn't hear what it was trying to tell me. The doubts piled up and I was exhausted, closing my eyes. I thought about that first time waking. Who were those people? How did I get there? How did I get here? It would be a long time before I got any answers to those questions. So I calmed myself, counted to ten, and went through the steps in my head.

I'd find out where I was first, then why I was here. Afterwards, I could figure out a way home. I couldn't be that far from home, could I? If this was a kidnapping they'd want me close at hand so they could get a ransom, right? Even as these thoughts crossed my mind, my eyes slid open and focused on that newspaper again. I don't know how I knew, I guess it was just instinct, my subconscious telling me what was going on long before I knew it myself. That newspaper wasn't a fake, but if it wasn't fake, then I'm….a very long way from home.

_**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**_

I sat at a table, finally seeing another person other than the guard who glared at me, for the first time in weeks. As I looked across the table though, I saw this man scowling at me. He was dressed like a sailor, but his uniform said 'Marine.' I didn't care about it all that much. I looked back to the window, out passed the land to the vast stretch of ocean there. An island. I was on an island. How I didn't know. These marines didn't seem to know either, because as they said, they found me in a strange crater that had damage a house in town.

I sighed, resting my elbow on the table and setting my head in my hand, shaking it slightly. "Look, I already told you, I don't know! I don't even know where the hell I am! You tell me you've never heard of America, the Caribbean islands, or anything that I know! Instead you've told me I'm in a world with five oceans that cover most of the planet and have islands throughout. The largest piece of land is something called the Red Line? Listen, I don't know how I got here, okay? I don't. All I know is that I'm not from this world!"

The marine shook his head and stood. They'd been questioning me for hours and didn't believe what I was telling them. Hell I didn't believe it either. How could I be in a different world? How? They stood me up and marched me back to the cell. They weren't letting me go, and it was making me angry. I hadn't done a damn thing! I hadn't broken any laws! They say I destroyed a house but also said they don't know how. I sure as hell don't know how. I had to get out of here! I had to find out what was going on!

I guess I caught a break then. The sound of something crashing suddenly reverberated throughout the entire building I was in, shaking the ground, and making everyone stop in their tracks. A minute passed by and I suddenly found myself left standing in a hallway with a single marine guarding me while the others went to investigate. I shivered when I realized the marine wasn't even focusing on me. Up until that point, I'd never raised my hand against anyone. I hated the thought of actually hurting someone. I'd never been in a fight. Hell the most violent thing I'd done was knock over a punching bag with a running kick. My mind wheeled back at that thought, remembering that I'd learned a little bit of self defense martial arts. I hardly thought about it, didn't have time to. This was my only chance to get away, so I took it. Raising my hand and delivering a swift chopping blow to the side of the marines neck. He slumped to the ground and groaned, while I bolted.

Running through the halls of that place, I thought it odd that I didn't encounter anyone else. I found a door that led outside, finally, and stepped out, looking around. A short ways away there was a bunch of rubble from what looked to have been a statue. I could clearly see part of what had been the head lying nearby. Was that what the crashing noise had been? I shook my head, it didn't matter. I turned in the other direction and took off running, wanting to get as far away from there as I could. Of course, fate has a way of interrupting your plans, as it did then. Skidding to a halt after turning a corner, I saw two things. First, it seemed like what must have been all the marines were standing out in the open, rifles aimed to the other thing I saw. A man tied to a post in the shape of a cross and a kid standing next to him.

If I hadn't been so frightened at the prospect of watching them be killed by the marines, I pry would have taken more notice of the oddities that were present. Like the rifles all being made of wood, or the big guy standing behind the marines with the metal jaw, or the strange outfit the man tied to the post was wearing, or the kids pink hair, or….well, you get the idea. It was weird. I guess one shocking thing has to follow another, because when the marines fired, there was a blur of motion and suddenly another person was standing there. Blue shorts, a red vest, and a straw hat. And all the bullets hit him! However instead of falling backwards like he should have, he leaned forward a little and I saw something even weirder than everything else. His back, his body where the bullets had hit was stretching out behind him one moment, and the next the bullets were flying away from him and back toward the marines who had fired.

My focus shifted entirely to this new person who started laughing, a huge grin on his face, a scar under his left eye. "That won't work on me!" He shouted, laughing more. I just looked on in awe as he took three katana off his back and held them out to the guy who was tied up. It was in that moment that reality smacked me in the face and it finally sank in. This wasn't the world I knew, not even close. I didn't know where I was, but it wasn't anywhere near home. It was all new and strange, and…it felt…real. I noticed that, everything seemed clearer somehow, more defined, easy to remember in detail.

"ALL WHO OPPOSE ME MUST DIE!" Someone yelled.

I finally took notice of the larger picture again as I heard the clash of metal upon metal. The man who had been tied to the post was free and holding the swords the guy with the straw hat had given him. He was blocking the swords of at least five marines, but…wait…what was…he-he has a sword…in his mouth?

"Where the hell am I?" I muttered.

The swordsman looked up to the guy with the straw hat, "I've already said I'd become a pirate and join you, either way I'll be a criminal after this. And that's fine, I still have my own goals! I will become the world's greatest swordsman. I no longer care if my name is clean or not, so long as my name reaches up to the heavens! If you get in the way of that goal, I'll cut you open so that you can apologize."

"Good!" straw hat said, "The King of the Pirates wouldn't have any less but the greatest on his crew!"

"Heh, well said!"

"What are you standing there for! Finish those two off!" that voice yelled again.

I turned my attention to that and my mouth fell open. He must have been the marine in charge, but…he had an axe built into his arm! His freaking arm! I didn't know what the hell was with this world I found myself in, but I suddenly began wishing it was a nightmare that I would soon wake up from. I never did get the things I wished for…

Straw hat grinned, "Zoro, duck!" He brought his leg up to kick as the swordsman, Zoro ducked down. "Gomu gomu no…. Whip!" He threw his leg out and it stretched, kicking all of the marines that had attacked Zoro and sending them flying.

Zoro stood and looked back at the guy and asked, "What are you?"

With his leg still in the air he responded, "I am…a rubber-man!"

* * *

**There you are! I'll bet that most of those who've read the manga will be able to guess how our main character got to the island now. Thanks for the reviews, and please, keep 'em coming!**


	3. Chapter 3

Rubber…that makes sense, I guess. It was then that the marines started shouting out, saying they couldn't beat the two. It was then that the marine in charge ordered those same marines to shoot themselves. It was then, that I snapped. I don't take kindly to anyone telling anyone else to kill themselves! It's wrong, plain and simple. I may not have known where I was, but I sure as hell knew who I was. I was Dante Moreau, and I was not going to let that mans words go unanswered! I know what I believe in, and it ticks me off that so few others have their own beliefs, their own values that they gained from examining their own lives. I've seen so many people act like sheep, following where everyone else follows, letting others do their thinking for them. That's what these marines were doing. Letting another person tell them their worth. I hated it.

As the marines raised their guns to their own heads, I shouted, "What the hell are you idiots doing? You can't throw your life away like that!"

Almost everyone seemed startled and I suddenly felt every eye turn to me. Straw hat though took the chance and rushed forward. "I am the marines worst enemy! If you've got the guts, then kill me!" He punched at the big guy who brought up his axe-arm and blocked it.

The kid with the pink hair shouted, "Luffy! Beat these marines!"

Axe guy threw off his jacket and faced Luffy, "People like you have no right to oppose me! I am marine lieutenant axe-hand Morgan!"

"I'm Luffy, nice to meet you." Luffy said.

I blinked in disbelief, not so much that Morgan seemed to be a hopeless narcissist, but at Luffy's casual, polite response as the man was bearing down on him. Luffy jumped up as Morgan swung at him, dodging the attack. The nearby fence and wall however were cleaved in half. Don't ask me how, I don't know. I don't get how you can cut something without even touching it. Hell I don't get anything about this world I found myself in.

Luffy kicked Morgan in the face and sent the man flying to the ground, landing on his back. All the marines were looking on in awe. I was too. Morgan stood, muttering, "You little bastard." He raised his axe up and brought it down, shouting, "Go to Hell!"

I guess Luffy had other plans. He side stepped it and jumped, spinning, and kicked Morgan again. Luffy grabbed Morgan's collar and raised his fist, "Some great marine you are. Destroying Coby's dreams and goal…"

"WAIT!"

Luffy glanced to whoever was shouting and saw that someone was holding a gun to Coby's head. Luffy punched Morgan and the guy yelled, "You idiot, I told you to wait! If you don't want your friend to die then don't move!"

"Helmeppo!" The marines shouted.

Coby looked up and said, "Luffy, I don't want to be in your way. I'm not afraid to die!"

As Coby spoke, my eyes turned to see Morgan rising to his feet and start lumbering toward Luffy. I don't know what sparked it within me, hell I didn't know what it was, but it took over, like instinct, and I dashed toward Morgan as he raised his axe over Luffy. I didn't know what was going on here, or why, but I did know that Morgan was an evil man. Corrupt. I can't stand corruption, especially in people who are supposed to be protectors. So I charged him, fist raised, feet pounding the ground. Three feet from him, he started bringing the axe down. I jumped. His axe stopped, blocked by Zoro, and a moment later my fist connected with the side of his head. It felt like a shockwave pulsed through me when it hit, and Morgan went flying to the side, out cold.

"He lost! Morgan has been defeated!" The marines yelled.

Zoro nodded to me as he put his katana away and then looked at the marines. I followed his gaze, and jumped in surprise when they started cheering. I realized that they weren't corrupt, it was just Morgan, and that made me feel good, but also disappointed. It seems even in a different world, people will do everything they're told without questioning whether or not it's wrong. I turned my head as Zoro suddenly fell to the ground in what I would later find to be exhaustion.

_**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**_

I told them my name was Dante. I ate a lot and didn't say much as I sat with Luffy, Zoro, and Coby. Then again, no one said much until they finished eating, which took a long time. I'd never seen anyone eat so much before.

"What are your plans, next?" Zoro asked Luffy.

"I'm heading to the Grand Line!" Luffy said.

Coby gawked at them, "What? Just the two of you can't survive there! The strongest pirates in the world gather there!"

"Well, we are headed in that direction," Zoro said.

Coby rounded on Zoro and started shouting some more. I let it become background noise as I delved into my own thoughts. I'd spoken quite a bit with the little girl whose house we were in, and she'd eagerly told me all she could when I asked questions about the world I'd found myself in. It was nice, not having someone questioning why I was asking those things, just simply telling me. I learned a bit more about the oceans, discovered I was in East Blue, and that the world was ruled by the World Government. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that a single government would encompass the whole world, but there it was. I did learn that there were rebels who opposed them, though, and actually found myself a bit relieved. It seemed there were a few people who wanted to think for themselves at least.

"What about you?" Zoro asked.

My thoughts interrupted, I sputtered, "Huh?"

"What about you? Where are you going?" He asked.

"Um…well," I started, trying to think about it. I rubbed the back of my neck and shrugged, "I guess I don't really know."

"Come with us!" Luffy said with a smile.

"With you?" I asked.

"Yeah! You're strong right? Join my crew!" He grinned at me and I just blinked.

I shook my head, "But, I'm not strong, and I don't even know where I am. I can't go off and be a pirate, I have to figure out how I got here."

"And how do you plan to do that?" Zoro asked, "Do you have any money? How are you gonna get off this island? And where are you gonna go? And if you aren't strong, how'd you knock out that marine?"

"I….I don't…" I gulped as his questions

ran through my mind. I didn't have money, yet I needed to leave the island or else be taken by the marines again. And where to go? I didn't have any idea. I wouldn't know who to go to, or what to look for. They were offering me a chance to get started on finding out what was going on. How could I refuse? With a sigh and a smile I looked up at them, "Alright."

"Yahoo!" Luffy shouted, laughing delightedly.

I chuckled along with him until the door slammed open and we suddenly found ourselves facing a marine. "Excuse me, we are wondering, are you really pirates?"

"Yeah," Luffy said as he stood, "I just found my first crew members so that would make us pirates now."

"I see," the marine said, grabbing the bill of his hat, "Even though you are pirates, you saved our town and base. We are grateful for that. However, as marines, we cannot allow you to stay any longer."

I heard shouts of outrage outside from the townspeople gathered there, but Luffy seemed unaffected, instead rising and saying, "Well then, let's go. Thank you for the food, ma'am."

I stood with him and Zoro and we started walking to the door. I was a bit surprised that Luffy walked right by Coby. They had seemed to be pretty good friends. Was he going to leave without saying goodbye? The marine looked at Coby and asked if he was with us.

"I'M NOT WITH THEM!" Coby shouted.

"Please hold on," the marine said.

We stopped and I saw Luffy smirking and raised my eyebrow at it. He was planning this?

"Is he telling the truth?" the marine asked.

Luffy pointed at Coby, "I know what this guy, used to do. He was with this faaaaaaat lady pirate. I think her name was Albida. He spent two years there-"

"SHUT UP!" Coby screamed, punching Luffy.

Luffy punched right back, a grin on his face. I saw Zoro smiling slightly too and frowned. I was lost. Why would they be fighting when they'd been so friendly with each other earlier?

"That's enough!" the marine shouted, "I know he isn't your friend, get out of the town immediately!"

That's when it hit me. Coby had wanted to be a marine, so if he was associated with pirates… A grin split my face when I realized what Luffy had just done. We walked out of the house and into the street, making our way to the harbor. Zoro tried goading the marines who just stepped back, and Luffy smiled the whole way to the boat. I did too.

We were preparing to set out when Coby came running up to us, panting. He stood up straight and saluted, "Thank you very much!"

"I've never seen a marine saluting pirates before," Zoro said.

Luffy laughed, "Coby, we'll meet again someday!"

I saw the marines approach as well and then… "Group salute!"

The look on Coby's face was priceless as he realized all the marines were there, saluting us along with him. I laughed lightly and climbed onto the small boat, sitting down as we cast off, suddenly feeling weariness set in. It had been a long few weeks, and a tiring day, but it had been fulfilling too. I hoped that town would be better off from now on, and somehow I knew that those marines there would live up to the image I have of marines being protectors of the people.

Luffy stretched out on the boat and shouted, "Yahoo! Grand Line, here we come!"

* * *

There you go folks. for those who think there's a connection with Kuma, you're correct. what it is however will remain unknown for the time being. Besides, the thing with Kuma is secondary to the real secret about Dante. thanks for all the reviews, and please keep them coming!


	4. Chapter 4

I yawned and sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. We were still drifting in that little dinghy, but, it felt a bit more crowded than I thought it should have. I looked at Zoro who was glaring past me and turned around to see three beat up people rowing our boat. Luffy was nowhere in sight.

"What the hell's going on?" I asked.

Zoro sighed, "Luffy got carried off by a giant bird, and then these idiots made me lose sight of him."

"Where'd they come from?" I asked.

"Good question," Zoro said, looking at the three, "Why were you drifting in the middle of the ocean?"

They went on to tell us about how they'd been tricked by an orange haired girl who was drifting in the middle of the ocean, pretending to have been in a ship wreck. When they went to take a look at the treasure she'd offered, she jumped on their boat and sailed off, shouting back to them that there was a storm coming. And then nearly as soon as she said that, the storm hit and destroyed the boat they'd found themselves on. I shook my head at them. That's what greed gets you I guess.

"She can predict the weather?" Zoro asked, "She must be something special…wonder if she'd join us."

"If I find her, I'm gonna kill her!" One of the three said, followed by the other two.

"First we gotta find the treasure!"

"Yeah, if we go back empty handed, Buggy will kill us for sure!"

"Buggy?" I asked.

"You haven't heard of Buggy the Clown? The fierce pirate who ate one of the Devil Fruit's?"

"Ate a Devil Fruit?" Zoro asked.

"What's a Devil Fruit?" I asked.

"It's a special treasure of the sea that gives those who eat it special powers, but in return turns them into hammers in the water."

I raised an eyebrow at them, "Special powers? Right…"

"No, it's true! Buggy ate the Bara-Bara no mi! No blade can harm him!"

"Bara-Bara….hey, Zoro, you think that's what Luffy did? Ate one of those Fruits?" I asked.

Zoro shrugged, "Probably."

We continued on our way, finally arriving at a dock and tying up the boat. Zoro looked around and I noticed to that the place seemed abandoned. "Where is everyone?" Zoro asked.

The pirates replied, "Well you see, we're currently raiding this village and all the villagers ran off."

"What do we tell Buggy about the treasure?"

"We'll just have to tell him the truth."

Zoro placed a hand on his katana, "We'd better meet this Buggy guy then. He might know where Luffy is."

_**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**_

As we were making our way toward where Buggy supposedly was, making small talk, we suddenly heard the sound of a cannon firing and were thrown backwards as a row of houses were obliterated. I sat up amidst the cloud of dust and yelled, "What was that?"

"Shit," Zoro said, "That's the direction the Buggy's supposed to be in, hey you three idiots, what…"

He stopped talking and I turned to see all three of them, knocked out cold. I scrambled to my feet and dusted myself off before looking at Zoro, "We'd better hurry."

"Yeah," he replied with a nod as we took off running.

It wasn't long before we reached a large building and heard the sounds of a large number of people. They were chanting and ten suddenly things went quiet. It didn't stay that way as we heard a nasally voice shouting, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING NAMI?"

"I'LL NEVER SINK SO LOW AS TO BE A PIRATE!" A girl's voice responded.

Zoro and me gave each other a look and then rushed in to the building, running up the stairs to get to the roof. We burst through the door to the roof as a pained yell went up. My head snapped around while Zoro started sprinting to the source. My eyes widened at how fast he went, grabbing two swords and using them to stop the three pirates bearing down on an orange haired girl, hands gripped around a fuse that was still smoking lightly. She put it out? Why would… I followed the aim of the canon to see Luffy sitting in a cage. He shouted, "Zoro! Dante!"

"Just how many of you are gonna charge one girl?" Zoro asked, his swords smashing the faces of the pirates who slumped to the ground, out cold. He asked the girl if she was ok and then turned to Luffy, "Is this your idea of fun? You get carried off by a bird and now when we find you, you're in a cage? Idiot!"

I started making my way toward Luffy as I saw a…clown? A clown. That must be Buggy. He stood next to Zoro and started talking to him.

"You're definitely Zoro. Are you here for my head?" Buggy asked.

Zoro sighed, "No, I've got no interest in you, I'm not a pirate hunter anymore."

Buggy drew a knife and spun it in his hand, "But I have some interest in you. Killing you would make my name more widely known."

"If you don't want to die, then just leave me alone," Zoro said.

Buggy turned and started toward Zoro, "If you don't show your skills, then you'll soon be dead!"

Zoro drew his swords, "Fine! If that's what you want!"

Zoro cut through Buggy and the clown dropped to the ground in multiple pieces. Luffy was saying something about it, but I wasn't paying attention. I was frowning…there was no blood, and his crew was chuckling. Then I remembered what those three had said. No blade could harm him!

As Zoro walked away toward Luffy I narrowed my eyes and kept my eyes on Buggy while his crew laughed, and then I saw it, his hand start moving and start floating. I knew it. I ran toward the floating hand and shouted, "He's not dead! He's got that Devil Fruit power!"

His crew stopped laughing and Zoro and Luffy turned to me. The hand shot forward and I suddenly found that it was coming at me now! I tried to twist away and then felt the stinging pain of a blade slashing through the skin on my arm. I yelled and grabbed the wound, tears forming in my eyes as I looked at the gash.

"His hand!" the girl shouted.

"The Bara-Bara no mi, that's the name of the Devil Fruit I ate! No matter how many times you try to cut me, you can't! I'm a Sectioned-Man!"

I grimaced and looked at Buggy with a glare. Luffy said loudly, "A Sectioned-Man? That guy's a monster!"

I glared and bared my teeth, growling as Buggy walked toward me and started talking, "You disrupted my plan to stab Zoro and managed to avoid a deadly blow. Impressive, but pointless."

"TRYING TO ATTACK FROM BEHIND IS DIRTY!" Luffy shouted, "YOU STUPID BIG NOSE!"

Buggy turned toward Luffy, enraged, his hand shooting toward Luffy, "Who are you calling a big nose?"

"Luffy!" Both Zoro and I shouted as the knife entered the cage and hit him.

I gawked as Luffy looked up, the blade clenched tightly in his teeth. He bit down and the blade broke and then he said, "I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"Kick my ass?" Buggy said, "PUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You're gonna kick my ass? That's hilarious! You four are gonna die right now! PUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

I frowned and looked toward Buggy, but could hear Luffy laughing. Why was that idiot laughing? He was tied up in a cage, I'd been stabbed, the girl looked too scared to fight, and Zoro wouldn't be able to beat Buggy.

"Just how do you plan to kick my ass while you're in this situation? Boys! Laugh at him!"

I turned to Luffy and he shouted, "Run away! Zoro! Dante!"

I frowned and looked at him. He wanted us to what?

The girl spoke to Luffy, ""Hey…your friends came to rescue you and you're telling them to run away? What about you?"

"Ok," Zoro said.

I looked to him and saw the smile. I looked at Luffy and saw the smile. Then I looked toward Buggy and his crew, the same smile coming to my face. I saw it. The cannon! Zoro and I both ran toward it, Zoro blocking Buggy's attempt to stop us. I dove for the matches while Zoro put his weight into the canon and lifted it, flipping the direction it was facing. I struck a match and lit the short fuse while Buggy and his crew panicked now that it was facing them.

"STOOOOOOOOP!" Buggy yelled.

KABOOM!

The explosion was massive, and they were all caught in the blast. Zoro and me both went to Luffy.

"This would be a good time to go," Zoro said, looking to the girl, "Who are you anyway?"

She stammered out a reply when Luffy interjected with his own, a big grin plastered on his face, "That's Nami! She's our navigator!"

She turned on Luffy and yelled, "You're still on about that? Why don't you think about a way to get out of that cage?"

"Good idea, I'll do that!" Luffy said.

I shook my head and placed the hand of my uninjured arm on my face, "How simple minded can you get?"

"That's alright, just stay in the cage," Zoro said with a smirk, "Dante, help me with this."

I nodded when I saw him start trying to lift the cage. I got around to the opposite side and grabbed the bars, trying to lift. I screamed out when a spurt of blood suddenly shot out of the gash in my arm. Damn that had hurt.

"Hey, maybe you should let Zoro-…" Luffy started.

"We don't have time for that!" I shouted back, straining more and then finally getting it up enough for Zoro to position it on his back. We took off after that, jumping to a neighboring rooftop and moving away from Buggy.

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Please read and review.


	5. Chapter 5

Zoro had dragged the cage through town until he couldn't anymore, letting it go and sitting down to rest. Luffy was gnawing on the bars, trying to eat his way through them I guess. Nami had disappeared, and me? Well my arm wasn't going to stop bleeding anytime soon and I was getting lightheaded. I guess that's why I didn't notice the dog at first, until it bit Luffy. I ignored it for the moment and sat down. Zoro gave me a curious look and then asked something. I'm guessing it was, 'Are you alright?' I can't say for sure, it sounded fuzzy and far away. I looked at my arm and saw the blood pooling next to me on the ground. There was…a lot of it. I finally gave in to sleep, falling back, the last thing I saw was a flash of orange hair, and then everything went black.

**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**

_Darkness…all consuming darkness, and then from nowhere, light! It was blinding, making me blink my eyes as I tried to get them to adjust to the sudden change. I felt weightless, like I was floating and it actually worried me a little. It didn't help much when I realized how cold I felt, or that the light seemed to have vanished just as quickly as it had come, but not completely. I couldn't see far, and my eyes must have been still adjusting to the sudden changes, because my vision swam._

_What had happened? I was…doing…something…it was hard to think clearly, my focus shifting too often between where I was now and the thing I was trying to remember. Which to focus on? It was decided for me, because I reacted to something where I was. A looming shadow approaching me, my swimming vision making it look all the more foreboding. Then I remembered…the hand coming at me…Luffy!_

**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**

I bolted up and looked around. I was inside a house, but where I didn't know. A throbbing pain in my arm grabbed my attention and I looked at the wound. It was tightly bandaged, a little red showing through the cloth. Looking down at myself, I was still covered in my own blood. A quick glance led me to find some clothes folded neatly on a table next to the bed. I looked around and saw Zoro sitting against a wall, sleeping with his swords cradled in his arms. "Lazy bastard," I muttered as I began to change clothes.

I was rather pleased with the new getup. It fit well and I felt like it was something I'd wear if I were a pirate…which I guess I am now. There were brown trousers, a light blue shirt with a split at the collar that went a few inches down, revealing my chest just under my neck. Then to finish it off, there was a rather old looking brown trench coat that matched the pants. I slipped it on and found a mirror, giving myself a quick look over. My hair was brown, wild and messy, though a bit longer than I remembered, reaching to the bottom of my ears. I was still as pale as ever, if not paler because of the very recent blood loss. And I was still as scrawny as ever, or...actually, I looked a bit...bigger than I remembered. I shook the thought away. Over all, I thought it was something I could definitely get used to. Go figure, the first time since I've been in this world that I find something I feel at ease with, and it gets beaten and battered the second I turn around.

**KABOOM!**

I was slammed to the ground by the force of the blast as the house broke into hundreds of pieces and rained down on me. I brought my hands up in a vain attempt to shield myself from the debris. That must have been done by Buggy, which meant the clown was still alive. I wasn't about to pretend I understood how he'd survived, hell I didn't understand how I'd survived!

As the clattering of parts came to a halt and the dust settled, I heard Zoro nearby say, "That's one helluva way to wake a guy up."

I had to agree with him. I pushed at the debris on me and slid out from underneath, hearing something tear. I looked around and saw the bottom of the trench coat had snagged on something and when I pulled away, it had torn a large rip up the side. I rolled my eyes and shrugged it off. It was old anyway. I stood and heard Luffy's voice, "Dante!"

"You survived too?" Nami said, the shock evident in her voice.

I just nodded weakly and coughed as the remaining dust in the air agitated my sinuses. I noticed the old man that was standing with Luffy and Nami, but decided to wait until things had calmed down a bit to ask questions about what was going on. The old man was shouting to himself before trying to take off down the road. Nami tried to stop him, telling him it was a reckless thing to do.

"I KNOW IT'S RECKLESS!" he shouted. I looked up and saw the man take off down the street. I'd never heard anyone say anything quite the way that old man had just done. Behind the words, in the tone of the voice, I could make out several distinct emotions; pain, pride, anger, determination.

"The Mayor…was crying," Nami said.

Luffy smiled, "Really? I didn't see anything."

"This is starting to feel fun," Zoro said. Luffy laughed in agreement.

"How can you laugh?" Nami shouted.

Luffy turned to her with a smile, "Don't worry. I like that old guy. I'm not gonna let him die!"

"How can you laugh in a situation like this? Where does your confidence come from?" Nami said.

"Our destination is the Grand Line, so we're going to steal that map back!" Luffy said.

Map? What map? I didn't have a clue what Luffy was talking about, but then again, I'd been out cold for who knows how long, so I wasn't going to question it.

Luffy held his hand up and spoke to Nami, "Will you help us? You need the map too, and the treasure."

"I'll never become a pirate," she said coldly before a devilish smirk crossed her lips, "But I don't mind teaming up for a while. Traveling with you seems profitable." She clapped his hand.

I sighed. I was too tired to even think about all that was going on around me, so instead I just followed the others, keeping quiet as they talked. We closed in on the building Buggy was on top of and could hear jeering and shouting. We picked up the pace, making our way to the source of it all. I was dumbfounded at first when I turned a corner and saw the Mayor floating in the air, struggling. I looked up and saw Buggy and realized that one of his hands was missing. He was choking the Mayor!

Luffy acted first, quickly running toward the Mayor, who shouted, "FIGHT ME!"

Then Luffy grabbed Buggy's hand and ripped it away from the Mayor. He smirked and looked up to Buggy, "I told you, I'm gonna kick your ass!"

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**And there's chapter 5! Thanks for reading and reviewing! It's great motivation to keep working on this! As for those who want some answers, NONE will be forthcoming until Kuma shows up. BUT, you'll be getting plenty of hints and peeks into what was done to Dante, through his dreams, as things progress. Please R&R!**


	6. Chapter 6

"So, you all came here of your own will to fight," Buggy said, "You're all dead!"

I wasn't really listening to what Buggy was saying; I'd gone to the Mayor's side and was making sure he was okay. I helped him up and then shoved me away forcefully. For a second I thought he was going to attack, but instead he just started shouting.

"Why are you all here? This is my fight! I'm the one who has to defend this village, so don't interfere!"

I'm not sure what surprised me the most. The fact that the old guy wanted to take on Buggy by himself, or Luffy's reaction of grabbing the old man's head and ramming his face into a wall. "What the hell was that?" I yelled and went to check on him. I looked back to Luffy as he cracked his knuckles.

"He would just get in the way."

"Good idea," Zoro said, "He'd just go charging in and die. It's safer for him if he's unconscious."

I sighed and shook my head. I never did like when people justified violence by saying it was to protect the person they injured, but…he had a really good point. I stood and looked as Luffy drew in a big breath and then yelled, "HEY! BIG, UGLY, RED NOSE!"

I blanched at him. He was honestly going to try and piss Buggy off even more? What the hell was going through Luffy's head?

"FIRE THE BUGGY BALL!"

My eyes widened when I looked up to see a cannon pointing straight down at us, loaded with one of those ridiculously over powered cannon balls. My only thought at that moment was to run, so I did. I got about three steps before I heard the cannon fire. I turned to look at my oncoming death to see Luffy standing defiantly in place.

"Gomu Gomu no….Balloon!"

Luffy puffed up to the size of a boulder and the Buggyball hit him right in his stomach. Contrary to blowing up however, it just stretched his body back, and then rebounded, flying back up to Buggy. I had to shield my eyes from the explosion as the building crumbled. "You could've warned us," Zoro complained as we walked back toward Luffy.

"Shall we get started" Luffy asked, grinning.

"Alright, explain yourself!" Nami shouted as she walked toward Luffy, "From the moment you fought that lion and came back alive, I knew you weren't normal! How did you swell up like a balloon?"

"Gomu Gomu no Balloon," Luffy said.

"I WASN'T ASKING FOR THE NAME!"

We looked over when we heard laughter and saw several people and a lion, unconscious with smoke trailing off their bodies. They dropped to the ground and we saw Buggy and some other weird looking guy.

"This is the biggest humiliation we've ever faced," the weird one said.

Buggy agreed, "I'm so mad that words fail me!"

I blinked at him, "Uh…those were words."

Buggy looked a little shocked and then glared at me, "Don't you dare mock me!"

There was a scream from behind Buggy and I saw a guy who looked like he was wearing a bear costume shouting, telling Buggy that Luffy was a Rubberman. "But, Mohji, if you already knew that," Buggy said, grabbing Mohji by the neck, "Why didn't you say so!"

My eyes widened when Buggy threw Mohji toward us, not so much that he threw the guy, but more that he'd thrown the guy at ME! I saw the guy coming and just did what comes naturally. I ducked. Mohji went sailing over me and crashed into the street. I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding as I saw the dust settle and Mohji not move, but my head snapped around when I heard someone shout.

"Commander of the Buggy pirates, Cabaji the Acrobat! I will avenge my fallen brothers!" The weird guy said, jumping on a unicycle and drawing a sword.

Don't ask me why the idiot announced himself before attacking. He was just giving us more time to react. Zoro was the first one to, blocking Cabaji's sword with his own. "If it's swords, I'm all for it."

"It's an honor Roronoa Zoro," Cabaji said, "As a swordsman I get to slay you!"

Cabaji struck out at Zoro, who deflected the attack and the ones following it. It was kind of sad to watch, really. Cabaji couldn't land a hit to save his life, so he started resorting to other tricks, like breathing fire. I raised an eyebrow at him, because I doubted Zoro would be scared off from something like that. I was right. Zoro calmly placed his sword in his mouth and grabbed the other two. As Cabaji charged, Zoro just crouched a little and crossed his arms.

"Oni…Giri!"

I sighed and frowned. I wasn't use to this much…violence, but I hardly felt phased by it. Even seeing all the blood. I knew something had to be wrong with me, if I wasn't appalled that this was even happening. I turned and saw Nami disappear behind a corner. My guess was to loot whatever these guys had…they certainly weren't in any shape to stop her. Luffy was talking to Buggy, Zoro was watching them, pry because his swords were useless against the clown. I on the other hand walked a short distance away and leaned against a wall. I felt tired again…the adrenaline had worn off. I guess I had lost more blood than I thought.

I let my head loll to the side and then frowned. Mohji wasn't lying on the ground…I couldn't see him anywhere. I frowned and walked over to where he had been laying, and then looked around. I didn't see him anywhere, not until he was almost on top of me anyway. He yelled as he rushed at me and I stepped to the side to avoid him. He fell to the ground once again before scrambling up and charging me again. I wasn't fast enough though and he tackled me. He scrambled to his feet again and then I felt pain shoot up my side as he kicked me. I tried rolling away, grabbing his foot, standing up. I couldn't. I was too lightheaded and couldn't tell which way was up or down. His foot hit the side of my head and my vision blackened briefly before returning as a haze. The kicks stopped and I saw someone crouched over me. I'm pretty sure it was Zoro, but my vision never cleared enough before I lost consciousness…again.

I didn't come back around until sometime later, and even then my vision was really blurry, so I didn't know what was going on. Someone was carrying me, and I could hear shouting behind me. We were being chased. Did Luffy lose the fight? At first I was worried, and then I heard his laugh. Of course he didn't lose, he was too determined for that. I could hear him talking about the village being a good place with good people, and then a dog barking. The shouting faded and I could hear the sound of waves then. We were leaving, finally. I looked up, my vision clearing enough to let me see with ease. Zoro was holding me up while Luffy and Nami walked beside us. We were nearing some boats.

"Is this your boat?" Luffy asked Nami, "It's so cool!"

Nami replied, "Yeah, no. I stole it from a bunch of stupid pirates."

"We've been waiting, theif!" a shout went up from the boat and three people jumped out. It was the three pirates who'd made Zoro lose sight of Luffy. They were frozen in place for a few moments when they looked at Zoro and me, and then they jumped into the ocean and started swimming away. I guess Zoro had really scared them earlier.

We climbed into the boats and set out. We weren't too far out when I heard the shout, "Wait right there, you damn kids!"

I looked around with the others and say the Mayor at the edge of the dock, breathing hard. He looked up and I could see his grin as he yelled, "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

I smiled as Luffy shouted back before closing my eyes and trying to rest. Of course, it didn't last long. Nami started screaming at Luffy and trying to drown him for leaving half of the treasure behind. Zoro just laughed at their antics, while I grumbled. I still felt weak, and I hated it. It reminded me of the day I'd woken on that table. I vowed not to be in this situation again. I would get stronger, somehow, and I'd use that strength to find out how I got here and then find a way home. Home…I missed my family.

* * *

**Alright, there's chapter 6 folks! I wasn't too pleased with this one, but decided that the story needs to move along so we can get to the good parts. Also, for those of you who are worried about not finding anything out about Dante, don't worry. We will be finding out plenty about him and how he came to be in the OP world as things progress, the soonest being a twist at the beginning of the Baratie arc. We just won't be finding out the BIG secret about him until Kuma shows up. Until then, you'll all be receiving plenty of hints, and by the end of Enies Lobby, you may even be able to guess at the big secret, or at least a big factor in it...no, actually you will know a big factor to it at the end of Enies Lobby. Until then though, you'll have to wait. As always, thanks for the reviews, and please continue reviewing! It is my lifeblood as a writer!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the delay folks. Real life and really suck sometimes and I haven't been able to write much of anything. I suppose it doesn't help that I'm not all that fond of this arc either, just always found it boring, so I'll likely be making it short.**

* * *

I grunted and sat up, wincing as my arm throbbed painfully. I looked at it and saw the bandage, the last few days coming back to me in an instant. I was in a world that wasn't my own, sailing the sea of East Blue in two little boats with a Rubberman, a swordsman, and a navigator. I almost laughed at the absurdity of it all, but then my arm throbbed again, painfully reminding me of just how real this all was.

"Hey, you're awake!" Luffy shouted, drawing my gaze.

The other's looked at me as well and I smiled weakly at them. "How's the arm?" Zoro asked.

"Fine," I said, steadying myself against the mast and standing.

"Good," Nami said, "Maybe you can convince these idiots." I looked over to the other boat to see her sitting with a map laid out in front of her. "If we're going to the Grand Line, we'll need a bigger ship, more people, and some equipment."

I nodded in agreement, "Yeah, charging in right now would be asking to die, and I don't feel _that_ discouraged yet." They all gave me a questioning look that I ignored. I already knew what it was like to be so discouraged and depressed that you just wanted it to stop, but that was the past. They didn't need to know it.

"There's a village to the North of here," Nami said, "We should head there first and look for a better ship."

Luffy interjected, "AND GET SOME MEAT!"

I shook my head at him and sighed, looking out to the vast stretch of ocean. Nothing but water in sight. It was a little disconcerting, not being able to see any land. If the boats sank, what would we do then? Luffy couldn't swim, and I wasn't all that great at it either. I sat back down and tried to take my mind of it by gingerly touching the bandage on my arm, testing to see how much outward strain it could take before it started to hurt.

We finally arrived at the island and Luffy seemed surprised by it, which considering how he got around without a navigator, wasn't very surprising. I got off the boat and stretched, thankful to have ground under my feet again. I yawned, realizing I was still tired when Zoro pointed at a small cliff. We all looked up to see four people, three of which took off running. The one who was left stood up and announced himself as 'Captain Usopp.' I cringed a little bit at that, he obviously wasn't a captain of anything, especially since the three that had been by him had looked like little kids.

He approached us and said, "You'd do best to not attack this village because my 80 million men won't forgive you!"

"80 million?" I asked.

He faltered a little, "Uh…yeah."

"This island is big enough to house that many people?" I asked, looking at Nami.

She looked at her map and shook her head, "Nope, not even close. He's lying."

Usopp started freaking out that he'd been caught when she said that, while Luffy laughed at him. I just sighed. I thought people in my world were idiots, but here…it was just ridiculous. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when we all ended up at a restaurant and Luffy started telling Usopp why we were there. He told us that there was only one place where we could find what we were looking for, a mansion a ways from the village. He told us that the girl that owned it was always sick and had been ever since her parents had died close to a year ago.

I wasn't too surprised when Nami said we should forget about getting a ship here. I certainly didn't want to ask a grieving girl if we could have a ship.

"You said you were looking for nakama?" Usopp asked.

Luffy turned to him, "Yeah, do you know someone who wants to join us?"

Usopp pointed at himself, "Let me be captain, and I'll join you!"

Simultaneously we all said, "Nevermind."

Usopp hardly seemed like the kind of person who could survive as a pirate, but then again, I didn't seem like that kind of person either, but I didn't have much choice. If I was ever going to find out how I got here and how to get back home, I was going to have to travel to find those answers.

Usopp left us and a short while later three kids burst into the place and started demanding to know where he was. They were waving wooden swords around and one started poking me. I wasn't in the mood, so I batted it away and put my head down on the table. I'd let the others deal with them, because right now, I needed to think. Of course, it is kind of hard to think around people like Luffy and Zoro, so instead of getting my thoughts sorted out, I listened as Luffy exclaimed how delicious the meat had been, and then the Zoro tell the kids that we'd eaten Usopp. I couldn't help but laugh when they screamed 'witch' and Nami started yelling at them.

When they found out what actually happened they told us that he'd probably gone to the mansion to, of all things, 'lie.' We questioned them about it and they told us that he'd often go there to tell tall tales to the girl who lived there in order to cheer her up. I blinked and smiled a little. My respect for Usopp had just gone up a notch. Go figure Luffy decided that it would be okay to go ask for a ship then.

**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**

When we approached the gate to the mansion, Luffy started talking, "Hello, please lend us a ship."

"Uh, Luffy, who are you talking to?" I asked, looking around to see if there was someone he'd seen that I hadn't. There wasn't. He started to climb over the gate and both Nami and me sighed.

"We can't stop him," Nami muttered.

"Then we'll just have to follow him," was Zoro's reply. So we did.

We approached the mansion and saw Usopp sitting next to a tree, talking to a girl who was leaning out of the window. My eyes fell on her as we neared. She was a rather cute girl, blonde hair, light brown eyes. But she was also very pale and looked frail. I guess her health wasn't all that great yet, even after a year of dealing with it. I stayed back while Luffy approached and started asking about a ship. I nearly jumped out of my skin when someone yelled, and I turned to see a butler approaching us, adjust his glasses with his palm.

"You can't just barge into the mansion like this!" He shouted.

I heard the girl start talking, "Clahador, these people are-"

Clahador held up a hand and cut her off, "You don't have to explain Miss Kaya, I will ask about it later. Now, all of you please leave, or is there something you want?"

"I want a ship," Luffy said.

Clahador's reply was a very blunt, "No."

I chuckled at Luffy's defeated reaction, but turned my attention when I heard Clahador start talking to Usopp, my eyes narrowing slightly. As he spoke to Usopp, asking him why he was there, I got an odd feeling in my gut. Something about him was rubbing me the wrong way. It was probably his overly polite attitude coupled with the condescending way he spoke to Usopp.

"I heard there was a huge mole here and wanted to see it for myself," Usopp said.

Clahador laughed, "I see you can certainly lie well. I've also heard about your father…you're the son of a filthy pirate. I'm not surprised you've turned out this way. Stay away from Miss Kaya, you and her belong to different worlds. What is it you want? Money? Name your price."

I gritted my teeth and saw Usopp's face darken. His father was a pirate? Well that explained why he was calling himself a pirate before, but Clahador's words struck a chord with me. Before it had simply been an uneasy feeling, but now, I did not like the guy. Period. Usopp had been coming here for a year and telling Kaya stories to lift her spirits and now this guy was trying to get rid of him with money? That was just plain low.

Apparently Kaya felt the same as me, because she shouted, "That's enough Clahador! Apologize to Usopp right now!"

Clahador looked at her and held his hand out toward Usopp, "There's no need for me to apologize, I'm just stating the truth." He turned back toward Usopp and adjusted his glasses again, "I feel sorry for you. You must hate your father, deserting his family to chase after treasure!"

Usopp was glowering now, "I won't let you say one more bad thing about my father!"

Clahador smirked, "You're not very smart are you? You should have just stuck with your usual lies and said he was a traveling salesman or that he wasn't related to you by blood…"

My fists were clenched and shaking. I knew exactly what the bastard was trying to do, and from the looks of it, it was working. I guess I never was very good at separating myself from the things going on around me, because I really wanted to deck the guy, but when I saw Usopp move to do so, I knew I couldn't let him. I lunged in front of Usopp and held him back to keep him from getting to Clahador.

"Let go of me!" Usopp demanded, struggling.

I struggled back and shouted at him, "Knock it off! Don't you see what he's doing! He wants you to hit him! He wants you to hit him so he can say he was right! Don't sink to his level!"

"I'm proud my dad is a pirate!" Usopp shouted, "I'm proud he's a brave warrior of the sea! I don't have to pretend! I'm the son of a pirate!"

I looked back at Clahador as I held Usopp back. He looked pissed and was glaring at me. I smirked, happy to have ruined his little plan…the bastard. He gritted his teeth and shouted, "Get out of here now! All of you!"

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**There you go. Again, sorry for the delay. Please R&R!**


	8. Chapter 8

"How did you know that butler was trying to get Usopp to hit him?" Nami asked.

I sighed and looked down at my feet. I was standing, leaning against the fence next to where she was sitting on it. Zoro and two of those kids were sitting on the ground next to it. I looked up and stared out at the sky, watching the clouds move slowly in the distance.

"I've dealt with it enough to know when someone's pulling crap like that," I said, "People say stuff like that 'politely' and so when someone who isn't used to it witnesses it, they take the side of the person doing the goading. I've had some good friends who've been hurt badly by that sort of thing because they only realized it afterward, and I'm sure that guy was trying to do the same to Usopp and that girl."

I turned my head to look at Nami and gave a weak smile, "Kinda sad, huh? That I can spot things like that."

"Not really," Zoro said, "We've all got parts of our pasts that we wish wouldn't be so depressing."

"Yeah," I said, "I guess."

"AAAAAAAHHH!"

My head snapped up to see the third kid running toward us, yelling, "We're in trouble now! There's a weird guy who walks backwards!"

I looked farther down the road and lo and behold, he was right. There was someone doing the moonwalk, moving toward us. We watched until he neared and stopped in front of us and then said, "Who said I was weird? I'm not weird!"

"But you look really strange," one of this kids said.

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm just a regular hypnotist. Jango the hypnotist!" he said.

"Really? Cool!"

"Show us a trick!'

"Don't be stupid," Jango said, "A good hypnotist never shows his tricks right away….now look at this ring!"

"Why didn't you just say that in the first place?" Zoro asked.

I frowned as I looked at the ring he was holding, and then turned my attention to him again as he spoke to the kids, telling them they would fall asleep when he said 'Jango.' It worked on all three of them….as well as him.

I groaned and shook my head, "Why is everyone here a complete idiot?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Zoro said.

I walked over to where he was laying and grabbed the ring, looking it over before tossing it back down. The thing wasn't just a ring, the whole edge of it was a blade. This guy wasn't just a hypnotist….

_**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**_

I told the others I was going for a walk to do some thinking. In actuality I was heading back to that mansion. As I approached it, looking left and right, I saw the butler from earlier just before he disappeared behind a rise. Lucky me. It was pretty easy to get over the fence again, and I walked up to the window from before. The girl was in there, sitting on her bed, hugging a pillow to her chest. I knocked on the window and her head snapped to me. She looked a bit unsure before sliding over to the window and opening it.

"You're from earlier, aren't you?" She asked.

I nodded, "Yeah. I was hoping I could talk with you a bit, if that's alright?"

She bit her lip and seemed to think about it a little before replying, "Alright, but it will have to be quick. I don't want Clahador getting upset again."

"You mean that butler, right?" I asked, "I just saw him a few minutes ago. He was walking toward the coast."

"He was?" she asked, seemingly genuinely surprised before shaking her head. "What did you want to ask?"

I took a breath and looked at her with a small frown, "It's Kaya, right?" She nodded. "I'm Dante," I said, holding out my hand. She was hesitant a bit before she reached out and shook my hand. Her grip was weak, and her hands felt small and frail.

"I heard from those little kids that Usopp's been coming here for the past year to tell you stories." I said.

She smiled and nodded, "Yes, he has. They're really funny."

"You're the owner of this mansion, right? Why not have him come inside to tell you stories?"

She looked down at that, "Clahador doesn't allow it. As you could tell, he's not too fond of Usopp."

I frowned at her, "If you're the owner, then you're the one in charge. You could just tell him to let Usopp in."

She shook her head, "Even if I did he wouldn't allow it. He's just worried about my safety, is all."

"Is that why he baited Usopp?" I asked.

She looked at me in confusion, "Baited?"

I sighed. It figured. She believed that Clahador was really only worried for her safety and was kind. Even if he was worried about her, I knew that any kindness from him was an act. That's how those people worked. "The things he was saying to Usopp, insulting his father, all that. He was saying them in order to get a rise out of Usopp. He wanted Usopp to hit him, to try and prove a point to you that he was a bad person. He baited Usopp with those insults," I explained.

Kaya blinked, and I could see a shadow of despair flit across her eyes as she started shaking her head, "Clahador isn't the type of-"

"Kaya," I said, cutting her off, "I know you don't know me, and have no real reason to believe me, but I'll say this anyway. Throughout my life, I've come across a lot of people like Clahador. They always act polite and proper around others. When they insult people, they do so calmly and in a polite voice. It's hard for a lot of people to notice the condescending tone of voice used when they do that. They do that so that, even when they are being cruel to others, people take their side because they can't see it."

Kaya stared at me, her brow creasing and a sad frown forming on her face.

I hated seeing people look like this, look sad when something like this was brought to their attention. I sighed and spoke, "I'm sorry, Kaya, I'm aware you're already under a lot of stress, and this is only adding more..."

"No, it's alright," she said as she shook her head and quickly rubbed at her eyes. I gave her a sad smile. She was a kind girl, the type who liked others to feel comfortable and not worry. It reminded me a lot of myself.

"I'll leave you be, then," I said, bowing my head slightly. "It was a pleasure to meet you Kaya."

She seemed to genuinely smile and nodded her head, "It was nice to meet you too, Dante."

I smiled and nodded to her before turning away. I got a few steps before deciding to turn around. I figured she could pry use something to lift her spirits at least a little. I was lucky the window was still open. "By the way, I have to tell you, you have a beautiful voice. You speak very gently."

She blinked and I noticed her cheeks redden slightly as she stammered, "Th-thank you..."

I smiled and gave another nod before turning around again and leaving.

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**For anyone who has watched the English dub(Funimation), they should get why I added that last bit in there. I love Kaya's voice in those. Anyway, please R&R!**


	9. Chapter 9

When I got back to the others they were starting to leave. They said that Usopp had run by in a panic, and were about to head to the coast to find Luffy. Needless to say, when we found Luffy and woke him up he explained the situation. I didn't want to believe it, kept denying that it was possible and telling myself it had to be a joke. I knew it wasn't though. The look in Luffy's eyes was proof enough of that. I felt sick to my stomach as we walked back toward the town, not really paying attention to the conversation the others were having. Kuro. The bastard's real name was Kuro. Well, that explained the feeling I had gotten that made me instantly dislike him. And now, he planned to kill Kaya so he could have 'peace.'

That night we prepared. With our help Usopp was able to coat the slope in oil to keep them from getting up it easily. Once it was finished I couldn't help but ask, "What about where we came ashore?"

The other four turned to face me, blinking, before everyone's gaze turned to Usopp. "AHH! I forgot all about that slope!"

"What the hell?" Nami yelled, "So we did all this for nothing!"

Usopp looked at her and shouted back, "But this is where they were meeting!"

"As if that matters!" Nami replied.

Zoro spoke up then, "That's enough. What's done is done. Look, this slope has been completely coated in oil, if they come here, it's going to take them a while to get up it. We should head to the other slope, if sunrise comes and no one shows up, we can run back here and take them out."

"I agree with Zoro," I said, "This island isn't that big, so we can cover the distance with time to spare if we have to."

"Yosh! Let's go!" Luffy said as Usopp quickly started running ahead of us to lead us there.

I'd taken about five steps before coming to a halt and looking to the left. "Zoro, where are you going?"

Zoro turned to me in confusion, "What are you talking about, I'm going to the coast."

I couldn't find the words to reply, so I just pointed my finger toward where the others were already nearly out of sight. Zoro grumbled something that sounded like, "I knew that, just got turned around." I didn't buy it.

* * *

We made it to the slope to see their pirate ship at the shore, just as the sun was rising. It actually looked rather ridiculous with the cat head on it, but the ship itself was big. Luffy and Zoro seemed excited at the prospect of a fight. Usopp seemed more scared than anything, because he couldn't stop his legs from shaking. Nami was ranting about what kind of treasure they might have... I don't think she was even aware that she might have to fight to get to it. As for me... I was nervous. Was I really about to do this? Was I going to fight against a bunch of pirates? I'd never been in an actual fight... hell the two times I'd ever hit someone, they were both sucker punches. I wasn't sure if I could do it. I didn't want to do it... I wanted to go home.

I don't know why I voiced it, but I spoke up about my doubts, "We could actually die here."

I was looking straight ahead but I could feel their eyes on me. "Yeah, so?" Zoro asked.

I looked at him, "Aren't you afraid of getting hurt? Of dying?"

"If we die, then we die," Luffy said, drawing my focus.

"But-"

"If you want to back out, now's the time to do it," Nami said with her pole resting on her shoulder.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and shook my head. I wasn't going to leave. I wasn't going to let them think I was a coward. It was like they weren't afraid to die. I thought I'd be able to understand that, but I couldn't. I knew what it was like to not care if I lived or died, but to set aside all fear of it? I closed my eyes and tried to remember something I'd heard a motivational speaker say.

_"It's easy to overcome the fear of death. Everyone can do it, especially once you realize that sooner or later, no matter what you do, or who you are, you will die. It's an inescapable fact of life. It is a part of what living is! Everyone can overcome the fear of death. We have other words for it; bravery, courage... Overcoming that fear gives us strength! It does!_

_But strength alone isn't enough. Strength alone won't get you through the battles of your life, whatever they may be. Strength helps us to endure, nothing more. Strength has limits. If you want to do more than endure in life, if you want to thrive, to live!... There is another fear you must overcome. It is a fear that not everyone can overcome. You need strength to do it, but it takes a bit more as well. It takes drive, discipline, determination! It takes heart! And once you overcome it, there is nothing, nothing, that you can not do. If you can overcome that fear... that fear to live life as fully as you can, to set aside your restraints, drop your self imposed shackles, and truly live for yourself... for your dreams, your ambitions...then you and only then will you be truly powerful. Then and only then, will you know exactly who you are."_

I took a deep breath and opened my eyes. I couldn't do all that at once. I knew I couldn't, it was impossible. But maybe, just maybe, I could approach it like I did other things? Step by step? I exhaled and looked toward the ship as many voices began to reach my ears.

"This is it," Usopp said.

Zoro smirked and rested his hand on a katana, "Heh, should be fun."

"Yeah!" Luffy agreed, holding up his fist.

"Just so long as I get their treasure!" Nami chimed.

I took another deep breath and let it out, trying to calm my racing heart. This was it.

**Step One: Set aside the fear of death, if only for a single moment.**

Yeah... I could do that.


	10. Chapter 10

**Ok, so, I've obviously not left the story, despite the long delay(again). I plan to update when I can, now that I've got my writing mojo back, but I can't guarantee any consistency with the updates. Sometimes it may take a couple weeks, others a couple of hours. I've also decided that the big secret behind Dante appearing in the OP world will be found out when the crew meets Aokiji, instead of Kuma. I'll be doing something a bit different with him. Anyway, because of the long absence, the monotony of these beginning arcs, and generally just a desire to get things moving along, I'll be skipping the rest of the Kuro arc and just give some glimpses back at it later on. The Baratie arc will also be cut short in favor of learning more about the sort of person Dante is.**

* * *

BANG!

My eyes snapped open and I sat up at the sound of a canon going off. "What are you doing?" Zoro asked. He appeared to have been woken up as well and was now asking Luffy what was going on.

"I'm trying to shoot that rock," Luffy said with a pout, "But I'm not very good at it."

I stood up with a sigh as Usopp went to help Luffy. My hand went to my arm and the bandage wrapped around it. I frowned at the memory of how I go the one when we were fighting Kuro. Jango had thrown one of his discs at me and I'd brought my arm up to block it. It worked, but sliced through my skin. It wasn't the wound itself that I worried about though.

"Everything okay?" Nami asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I looked at her with a small smile, "Yeah, I'm fine." It was the truth. I was perfectly fine. That was the issue. The blade cut through my skin...but nothing else. It had shattered instead. It felt as though it had stopped bleeding so I decided to go and change the bandage, hoping to get a look at whatever was going on with my arm.

**%%%%%%%%%%%%%**

I picked at the edge of the new bandage as we sat in the galley. The others were talking about getting another crew member. I'd paid attention long enough to realize everyone...with the exception of Luffy, was talking about a cook. After that though, my thoughts went back again to my arm. My arm. **_My arm._** Was it my arm? I honestly wasn't sure. It felt like my arm... but at the same time, the only thing that seemed real about it was the skin. Everything else... everything underneath the skin, as far as I could tell, was _all_ metal.

I was snapped out of my thoughts as someone shouted outside. "Come out here you pirates! I'll kill all of you!"

Luffy was the first to go see who it was, and I followed right behind. We were on a ship in the middle of an ocean... I wanted to know _how_ anyone was on the ship.

"Who are you?" Luffy asked as I walked up next to him. On the main deck was a guy with sunglasses and a sword. He looked pretty pissed off too.

"It's none of your business to know who I am!" the guy said as he leaped at us and swung his sword. Luffy jumped forward and over the guy and I just jumped back and slammed against the wall.. The guy ignored me and turned to Luffy, yelling about us trying to kill his friend. As he charged, Luffy jumped up again.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but, stop destroying my ship!" Luffy yelled as he grabbed the guys head and threw him into the wall.

I looked to my left as Zoro walked out and looked down at the guy laying on the deck. "Johnny? Is that you?"

"Big bro?"

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Apparently Johnny had been using the rock Usopp blew up as a shelter while trying to take care of his friend, Yosaku. Nami was really irritated, not only with Johnny and Yosaku, but Luffy as well. They didn't seem to have any idea of how to survive out at sea... and Luffy intended on becoming King of the Pirates. He wasn't exactly off to a great start.

When we mentioned we were looking for a cook though, Johnny was happy to tell us about a sea restaurant called Baratie, and we set out for it. When we got there I was actually quite impressed with the ship. It was large, decorated, and looked like a giant fish. Everything about it pretty much screamed 'restaurant.'

We were all apparently to caught up in looking at it that we didn't the marine ship that had pulled up until it was right next to us. I looked over and saw a guy looking over at us. He held up his fist and I could see that it looked like he'd had a piece of iron attached to his knuckles. Hey, it wouldn't be the first or oddest thing I'd seen attacked to someone's limb since getting here. "I am Lieutenant 'Iron Fist' Fullbody," he said, "Who is your Captain?"

"I am!" Luffy shouted back, "I just finished my pirate flag two days ago."

Fullbody just huffed and looked a Johnny and Yosaku before talking more to himself than them that he'd seen the two 'shabby' bounty hunters before. They apparently took insult to the comment and decided to teach Fullbody a lesson. I just sighed and shook my head as they charged and jumped across to his ship, only to get pummeled so hard they flew back onto the Going Merry.

A bunch of papers fell out of Johnny's pockets and I watched as Nami asked what they were before picking one up. As he explained that it was a bunch of bounty poster, I noticed that Nami wasn't really paying any attention. She was staring at the one she'd picked up and her hands had balled into fists, crumpling the sides of the poster.

"Hey you guys, this is bad!" Usopp shouted, getting our attention, "Those Marines are pointing a cannon at us!"

I only had enough time to turn my head before I heard the blast of the canon going off and saw the steel ball hurtling towards us. I froze up and could only watch as it came nearer, until Luffy jumped up and placed himself in its path.

"Gomu gomu no... Balloon!"

Luffy sucked in air and his body literally expanded until he was the size of one of those giant beach balls. The cannonball hit his stomach and bounced off as he shouted, "Take this back!"

It would have been really impressive... if he'd sent the cannonball back toward the marine ship. Instead it bounced off and flew directly at the Baratie, impacting with a loud crash.

"Oh, geez..." I muttered as I heard Nami sigh loudly. This was brilliant. We hadn't even gotten to the restaurant yet and already Luffy was causing wanton destruction. I wasn't too worried about Luffy getting in trouble, I just hoped that no one had been hit by that thing... and that they'd still serve us. I was hungry.


End file.
